Apparently, even non-Fox News media is finding the State Department incomprehensible.



This is what happens when your employer does not have a policy that makes sense.

600 killed and scores of churces burned?  Well, they're only Christians...

...it's not like it involves something important like sexual freedom.

//EGYPT’S EMBATTLED COPTIC CHURCH LASHES OUT AT WESTERN MEDIA FOR GIVING ‘POLITICAL COVER’ TO ‘TERRORIST AND BLOODY GROUPS’

Egypt’s Orthodox Coptic Church lashed out at Western media coverage of the recent violence in its country, saying “read objectively the facts of events and [don't] give international and political cover to these terrorist and bloody groups.”

The church also announced its support for state military and police against the “black terrorism” of the Muslim Brotherhood-led forces supporting ousted former President President Mohammad Morsi, according to statement Friday and reported by Al Arabiya.//

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good

Islam gets a bad rep for its violent adherents...

...but let's remember that they aren't the only Muslims.

Muslims protecting Christians in Egypt.


The Bad

...this is how you form an anti-American alliance.

Good work, Mr. President!

The Ugly

"After torching a Franciscan school, Islamists paraded three nuns on the streets like "prisoners of war" before a Muslim woman offered them refuge. Two other women working at the school were sexually harassed and abused as they fought their way through a mob."

Smart diplomay...

...this is how you form an anti-American alliance.

Good work, Mr. President!

The list...

...of Coptic churches attacked by Militant Muslims.

From the "With friends like these" file...

...the New Republic is a leftist publication.

//The best defense I can muster for Team Obama's pathetic response to the events of the last month in Egypt is that the men and women in charge of American foreign policy simply don't mind looking foolish. No, really: Obama has espoused the generally astute opinion that the immediate reaction of the American president is not the most important aspect of every worrying development on the planet. Not all problems can be fixed by a show of American strength or outrage or willpower. And really, in the grand scheme of things, whether the administration looks silly or weak is less meaningful than whether it is effective.

Alas, this quasi-defense doesn't apply in the case of Egypt, where the death toll from the last 24 hours stands above 500. (Injuries are at about 3,700.) Not only has the administration looked weak and unprepared, but it looks unintelligent, too. The New York Times had several superb articles on the "crisis" today—as an aside, I wonder if people would use words like "crisis" if the Iranian mullahs had just slaughtered hundreds of people—but the one that caught my eye concerned the comments from the admistration yesterday. As Mark Landler and Michael R. Gordon somewhat snidely (and appropriately) put it:


[Secretary of State] Kerry announced no punitive measures, while President Obama, vacationing here on Martha’s Vineyard, had no public reaction. As his chief diplomat was speaking of a “pivotal moment for Egypt,” the president was playing golf at a private club.
Today, however, President Obama made a longish statement, but he sounded just as vacillating as ever. He began by saying, "The relationship between the United States and Egypt goes back decades," adding pointlessly that Egypt was "an ancient center of civilization." He then said that "the United States strongly condemns" what has happened in the last day, and continued by saying, "We have sustained our commitment" to Egypt, which I assume means aid. The big moment of the speech: when he said he was "cancelling a joint military exercise" with Egypt and was going to "assess implications" with his national security team. "America cannot determine the future in Egypt," he concluded.

It was not an impressive performance. The president kept tripping over himself, first claiming that America follows its values, then talking about American interests, and making no attempt to synthesize the two. //

It's a good thing we have a Nobel Prize winner for president and not that cowboy...

...or Putin could be considered the "moderate" in the Middle East.

Oh, wait...

If you still doubt that Barack Obama has disastrously bungled our foreign policy, check out this video. In it Egyptian singer Salma Elmasry brutally insults Obama for supporting the Muslim Brothers and Islamists in general, her vulgar insults laced with an image of our President sporting a bin Laden cap and beard, and another of him with thickened nose and lips, no surprise to anyone familiar with traditional Arab racism. Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin is on his way to Cairo. According to Debka, “Putin hopes to come away from Cairo as champion of the war on radical Islam in two important Arab countries and the most reliable ally of forces for moderation.” Next on his itinerary is Tehran, where “the Russian leader will use the double exposure to underscore Moscow’s solid presence at the power centers of the Middle East – in striking contrast to Washington.”

Things are pretty bad internationally when Putin, the butcher of Muslim Cechnyans, is seen as a “moderate,” and the enabler of genocidal Iran and Syria a stauncher warrior against jihadist terror than the land of the free that lost 3000 citizens and billions of dollars on 9/11. That’s how badly Obama has damaged our interests and security, squandered the capital of our international prestige, and in general made everything worse.

So, Obama alienated Eastern Europe, he's being talked down to by Africans, and the Middle East now considers him allied with the radicals.

At least we still have China!

It's a good thing that we have a Nobel Peace prize winner and The World's Smartest Guy...

...rather than that dumb cowboy.

“You Turned Your Back on the Egyptians” - Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s top general, has stern words for the United States.

Weymouth: The U.S. is very concerned about the sit-ins at Rabaa and Nahdet [two squares in Cairo where the Muslim Brotherhood has staged sit-ins].

Sisi: We really wonder: Where is the role of the United States and the European Union and all of the other international forces that are interested in the security, safety, and well-being of Egypt? Are the values of freedom and democracy exclusively exercised in your countries but other countries do not have the right to exercise the same values and enjoy the same environment? Have you seen the scores of millions of Egyptians calling for change in Tahrir? What is your response to that?

You left the Egyptians, you turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won’t forget that. Now you want to continue turning your backs on Egyptians? The U.S. interest and the popular will of the Egyptians don’t have to conflict. We always asked the U.S. officials to provide advice to the former president to overcome his problems.

It's a good thing we have a sophisticated leftist beloved of the world community -

and a Nobel Prize winner! - rather than that cowboy!

U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has achieved the hat trick of alienating all factions in Egypt.

Schadenfreude - it's so invigorating on a Friday.

Smart diplomacy.

It's a good thing we have a President who is attuned to the feelings of the Arab street and the Muslim world and who is adored by the common Muslim for his outreach to the radical elements of Islam.

Yay, Egyptian Democracy!  Let's send them more aid! 

Egyptian court sentences family to 15 years for converting to Christianity:

The 15-year prison sentence given to a woman and her seven children by an Egyptian court for converting to Christianity is a sign of things to come, according to alarmed human rights advocates who say the nation's Islamist government is bad news for Christians in the North African country.

 A criminal court  in the central Egyptian city of Beni Suef  meted out the shocking sentence last week, according to the Arabic-language Egyptian paper Al-Masry Al-Youm. Nadia Mohamed Ali, who was raised a Christian, converted to Islam when she married Mohamed Abdel-Wahhab Mustafa, a Muslim, 23 years ago. He later died, and his widow planned to convert her family back to Christianity in order to obtain an inheritance from her family. She sought the help of others in the registration office to process new identity cards between 2004 and 2006. When the conversion came to light under the new regime, Nadia, her children and even the clerks who processed the identity cards were all sentenced to prison.

Colorado burns and Egypt goes Islamicist...

...President Downgrade braves the heat to get in his 101st round of golf as president.

No Holiday from History.

The coming Egyptian Civil War.

Whatever happens, the 10 million Christians in Eqypt are going to get it in the neck.

Safe, legal and rare.

Necrophilia is accepted in Islam, but neither mandatory or recommended:

An Imam in Morocco issued a fatwa stating that necrophilia is “Halal” or religiously acceptable practice in Islam. He said that a husband has the right to have sex with his dead wife.

The Imam, whose name is Zamzami Abdelbari, said that marriage remains valid even after death, which does not cancel the marriage link. He took as evidence a Koranic verse which says that Muslims believers will go to Paradise with their wives…

Sheikh Zamzami said that the husband has the right to have sex with his dead wife. He added that the husband may wash the body of his dead wife and have sex with her.

He said that the woman also has the same right but failed to explain how a woman can manage to perform sex with the corpse of her dead husband.

However, Sheikh Zamzami, tempered his most unusual fatwa by stating that necrophilia, though Halal is a disgusting act that would be best avoided.

For those who may still be interested, I believe I discovered a few years ago that there is no law criminalizing necrophilia in California.

What kicked this off was a Mark Steyn post on Egyptian feminists asking that necrophilia not be decriminalized>

This blogger is concerned that people might erroneously think that necrophilia is a raging problem among Muslims.

Coptic priest saves Egyptian soldier from Coptic mob...

...the Copts were angered by reason massacres of their fellow Christians.




Footage on the protest:



And the police reaction:



And:

Or just forget all that.

Mubarak resigns...it is reported...for now.

Well, if that's the case, maybe we can cut the deficit by eliminating the CIA and outsourcing to CNN.

According to the New York Times, our President and CIA Chief based their intelligence estimates of the almost certainty of Mubarak resigning on what they saw on television:

Mr. Obama watched Mr. Mubarak’s speech on board Air Force One, returning from a trip to Michigan, the press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said. As soon as he arrived at the White House, Mr. Obama huddled with his national security aides. The administration appeared as taken aback by Mr. Mubarak’s speech as the crowds in Tahrir Square. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta, testified before the House of Representatives on Thursday morning that there was a “strong likelihood” that Mr. Mubarak would step down by the end of the day.


American officials said Mr. Panetta was basing his statement not on secret intelligence but on media broadcasts, which began circulating before he sat down before the House Intelligence Committee. But a senior administration official said Mr. Obama had also expected that Egypt was on the cusp of dramatic change. Speaking at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, he said, “We are witnessing history unfold,” adding, “America will do everything we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy.”

Rich Galen shares my frustration:

I have been giving Obama a pass on how the Administration has handled the past two weeks in Egypt.


No more.

It is one thing to have been surprised by the speed and magnitude of the anti-Mubarak demonstrations in Egypt. But, after more than two weeks I would have thought the CIA and other intelligence services would have been able to determine what President Mubarak was going to do (or not do) yesterday.

In his speech in Michigan yesterday President Obama all but offered Mubarak a room in the White House until he decided where he wanted to settle down.

How embarrassing for the President of the United States to be so disconnected to the major event on the planet.

Apparently it is not just the Western world which was befuddled by what is outside the frame of the TV cameras - the Obama administration was just as befuddled as we were.

Yikes.

Mubarak/Obama Speeches on Egypt.

Obama according to NRO:

At a speech today at Marquette University, Pres. Barack Obama opened the talk about economic growth with a few brief remarks about Egypt. They are paraphrased below:

We are following today’s events in Egypt very closely. We’ll have more to say as this plays out. What is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfold. It’s a moment of transformation that is taking place because the people of Egypt are asking for change… They’ve turned out in extraordinary numbers… but it’s young people who are at the forefront. So going forward we want those young people to know that America will do everything se can to support an orderly transition to democracy in Egypt. As we watch what’s taking place, we’re also reminded that we live in an interconnected globe…

Mubarak:

I am telling you, as a president of the country, I do not find it a mistake to listen to you and to respond to your requests and demands. But it is shameful and I will not, nor will ever accept to hear foreign dictations, whatever the source might be or whatever the context it came in.


My sons and daughters, the youth of Egypt, dear fellow citizens, I have announced, without any doubt, that I will not run for the next presidential elections and have said that I have given the country and served the country for 60 years in public service, during wartime and during peacetime.

I have told you my determination that I will hold steadfast to continue to take on my responsibility to protect the constitution and the rights of people until power is transferred to whomever the people choose during September, the upcoming September, and free and impartial elections that will be safeguarded by the freedom – the call for freedom.

This is the oath that I have taken before God and before you. And I will protect it and keep it until we reach – we take Egypt to the safety and security.

And:

Let me say again that I have lived for this nation. I have kept my responsibilities. And Egypt will remain, above all, and above any individuals — Egypt will remain until I deliver and surrender its — it to others. This will be the land of my living and my death. It will remain a dear land to me. I will not leave it nor depart it until I am buried in the ground. Its people will remain in my heart, and it will remain — its people will remain upright and lifting up their heads.

A couple of observations:

1.  Why is American foreign intelligence so crummy?  Obama clearly believed that Mubarak was going to resign.  Did Mubarak dupe him?  Has Obama lost so much credibility with Mubarak that the aren't telling him their plans?  Don't we have analysts who are supposed to have contacts and can read the tea leaves better than this?

2.  Mubarak is plainly telling Obama to get lost with his statement about "it is shameful and I will not, nor will ever accept to hear foreign dictations, whatever the source might be or whatever the context it came in."

3.  So much for American influence in Egypt.

4.  This is a bad sign for American influence generally.  As the Guardian observes, "Obama wrongfooted by Mubarak as White House tries to keep upBy refusing to leave office the Egyptian president has exposed America's inability to decisively influence events."

Obama has been putting pressure on Mubarak since last week to stand down straight away, but Mubarak, in a televised address tonight, said he would not bow to international pressure, a direct snub to the US president.


Mubarak's response provides a graphic illustration of America's slow decline from its status as the world's sole superpower to a position where it is unable to decisively influence events in Egypt, in spite of that country being one of the biggest recipients of US military aid.

If our military aid can't buy us an Egyptian President, what good is it?

4.  Mubarak's line about  "This will be the land of my living and my death" reminded of the Byzantine Empress Theodora's statement in a similar situation, when her husband, the Emperor Justinian, and his court were about to "bug out" of Constantinople in the face of the Nika Riots of 532 AD.  According to Procopius, Theodora put back bone into the men by saying:

This is no occasion to keep to the old rule that a woman must not speak in the council. Those who are most concerned have most right to dictate the course of action. Now every man must die once, and for a king death is better than dethronement and exile. May I never see the day when my purple robe is stripped from me, and when I am no more called Lady and Mistress ! If you wish, O Emperor, to save your life, nothing is easier : there are your ships and the sea. But I agree with the old saying that " the purple is the noblest winding-sheet.'

A "winding sheet" was the sheet that corpses were buried in.  Purple was the color reserved for emperors. The meaning was it was better to die an emperor than flee.

This demonstration of resolve meant that Justinian had to stay in Constantinople and put down the riot.  He did this by putting the problem into the hands of General Belisarius, who mousetrapped the rioters in the Hippodrome, where he slaughtered 35,000 rioters.

If Mubarak is playing the role of Justinian, things could get very bloody.

Lord Jim.

Two days ago, Barry Rubin - director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal - pondered the possibility of Mubarak not stepping down from power as the script called for.

Speaking of having someone competent in power, this brings us to the question of U.S. policy. I can’t get the story of “Lord Jim,” the great Joseph Conrad novel, out of my mind. The main character is a professional sailor who is one of the officers aboard a broken-down freighter carrying hundreds of poor Muslim pilgrims from the East Indies to Mecca. The ship hits something and a storm is approaching. The crew decide, without checking properly, that the ship is going to sink. They panic and take to the lifeboats, betraying their duty and leaving the Muslims on board to die.


But the ship doesn’t sink at all and the passengers are rescued by a passing naval vessel. The crew is put on trial and disgraced, losing their licenses. The humiliated young man can only restore his honor by acts of great bravery, which is the rest of the novel.

Within hours of the start of Egypt’s crisis, Barack Obama panicked and took to the lifeboats or, to use the contemporary phrase, was ready to throw the regime under the bus. Here, I’m not judging on a basis of human rights, national interests, morality, or anything else: I’m just stating a fact. In a world that, at least outside of Western Europe, favors strong leaders, Obama came off as more Wayne Newton than John Wayne.

And:

So how is Obama going to look if the ship stays afloat?


After all, this is an American government that a few days ago “ordered” Egypt’s government to go, starting “now,” even starting “yesterday.” One of several bad decisions was a failure to distinguish between Mubarak and the regime. These people still don’t realize what they did wrong:

Privately counseling the Egyptian elite to get rid of Mubarak might well have worked; publicly yelling at them to disband themselves was asking them to commit suicide. Obviously, they were not likely to do so.

Perhaps the most interesting single sentence spoken by anyone during this crisis was when Mubarak said that Obama doesn’t understand Arab culture. What did he mean? Here’s my interpretation:

In Western society, you can compromise and make concessions so that your opponent or potential partner says: What a great person! He’s so reasonable. I, too, will make concessions and we will have a win-win solution!

For decades naïve Westerners have been trying to apply this to the Middle East. It doesn’t work. The more you concede the more the other side concludes you are weak. The more you give, the more they take. Appetite grows with the feeding.

And there's more. If people think that the other side is stronger, is winning, and you are losing credibility, more and more of them will join that other side out of opportunism or survival.

This is precisely what's happening in the Middle East. As the United States apologizes and makes unilateral concessions, people are attracted by Iran's posing as the "strong horse," ranting, roaring, threatening, and killing. If you throw some of your friends under the bus (Lebanese moderates, Iranian and Turkish oppositionists, Israel, southern Sudan?, etc.), many others will get on the bus.

Then there is this observation from today:

I've never seen anything like this Egypt crisis to demonstrate how ignorant the Western experts are about the Middle East.


When the general who announced that there would be a dramatic announcement said, "This ends tonight," he was referring to the disorders and demonstrations, not to Mubarak.

Remember the most important sentence of the crisis: When Mubarak said that Obama doesn't understand Egyptian (Arab) culture. Mubarak believes that you don't yield ground or they cut your head off. You show you are tough and they back down.

That is the mentality we are seeing. There may be an outbreak of violence right now. But don't think the army didn't know that and must have some plan to deal with it. Because this was the equivalent of Gary Cooper, Charles Bronson, or Clint Eastwood saying, "You want it? Come and get it!"

Before this is over, there's going to be a lot of blood in the streets of Cairo.

This seems more inauspicious today than it did 14 days ago.

Egypt withdraws its ambassador to the Vatican because of the Vatican's protest against the failure to protect Coptic Christians from being murdered.

When it was reported on January 14, 2010, it seemed like a headscratcher.  Now, with the possibility of a new Egyptian government that might include the Muslim Brotherhood, it seems like a really bad sign.